I’m writing to respond to the government’s recent changes to the NHS with regard to the closure of NHS England and the 50% cuts to integrated care boards (ICBs). I work for an ICB and generally support the government’s view that the NHS needs reform. The recent report by Lord Darzi made it clear that substantial changes are necessary, and I, and thousands of my colleagues, recognise that it is vital that changes are made.
With all this said, the newly announced cuts are alarming for everyone. To put it into perspective, last year ICBs completed a round of 30% cuts, in real terms, for which they were given two years to complete. The newly announced 50% cut has apparently to take place before December this year. Two weeks on from the revelation of these planned cuts, ICBs have no further information to enable them to take action. No vision for what our remit will cover, what’s in and what’s out of the 50% cuts, or who will pick up the tasks we can no longer afford to perform.
My colleagues remain pragmatic, but the lack of knowledge about what the system is expected to look like at the end of these cuts is causing tremendous concern. At the core of what we do is patient care. The bottom line is that we simply do not know how the same level of patient care can be maintained while such deep cuts are being prioritised at such speed.
My colleagues are good people trying hard to their best for patients, but we are not magicians. If we are to make these changes we need reasonable timescales and a clear vision for the service. Without that, patients will inevitably feel the pain.
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